President Trump announces new tariffs on Chinese goods

US President Donald Trump escalated a growing trade war with China by unveiling plans today to impose 10 per cent tariffs on an additional US$200 billion worth of Chinese goods.

Trump warned on Monday that Washington would impose a 10 percent tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods after Beijing's decision to raise tariffs on $50 billion in USA goods.

President Trump says the tariffs on Chinese imports are a response to the country's unfair trade practices, including what administration officials contend are requirements that USA companies share their intellectual property in exchange for access to China.

Trump said Monday that China's response "indicates its determination to keep the United States at a permanent and unfair disadvantage".

The Trump tariffs, which the United States government says are punishment for intellectual property theft, will be enacted in two waves.

"Rather than altering those practices, it is now threatening United States companies, workers, and farmers who have done nothing wrong".

While on the campaign trail, Trump has repeatedly criticized China's economic and trade practices.

The first round of US tariffs worth $34 billion will go into effect on July 6, while a second batch valued at $16 billion will undergo further review, USTR said last week.

However, many economists and businesses in the U.S. say the tariffs are likely to hurt some of the sectors the administration is trying to protect, which depend on China for parts or assembly. He added that China is a "predatory economic government" that is "long overdue in being tackled", matters that include IP theft and Chinese steel and aluminium flooding the U.S. market. "It's an unprecedented level of larceny". "This is predatory economics 101".

"I reminded him that's not fair competition", Pompeo said.

China hit back with tariffs on $50 billion of American products, including agricultural goods.

Chinese tariffs on USA soybean exports to the People's Republic could cost Iowa farmers as much as $624 million, according to Donnelle Eller, an agriculture reporter with the Des Moines Register.

Mr. Trump's tariffs on Chinese-made goods, as well as on steel and aluminum tariffs from around the world, are prompting increased concern from businesses and Republican lawmakers.

Pompeo on Monday described USA actions as "economic diplomacy", which, when done right, strengthens national security and worldwide alliances, he added. Many Democratic lawmakers applaud the use of tariffs as a tool to rein in China's behavior, but fault Mr. Trump for a "chaotic" policy.

"The trade relationship between the United States and China must be much more equitable", Trump said.